


Under The World, Over His Head

by Dreamin



Category: Hercules (1997)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, dead child mentioned
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-09-03
Packaged: 2020-10-04 15:55:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20473634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamin/pseuds/Dreamin
Summary: Is it possible to find love while you're trying to overthrow your brother? Hades is about to find out.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [afteriwake](https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/gifts).

> I've loved Disney's _Hercules_ since it came out but wasn't inspired to fic it until I heard that Disney wants to do a live-action remake. Then I heard they wanted Benedict Cumberbatch to play Hades, and well, I did a little [photo manip](https://strangelock221b.tumblr.com/post/187364446936/okay-so-the-rumor-is-flying-again-that-disney) and that led me to this.
> 
> This'll follow the plot of the movie for the most part, but I also brought in Persephone (who starts out with her original name, Kore) because wow, does Hades need someone.

There was a timid knock on Hades’ office door then it opened and Panic, in his preferred form as a human male who was supposed to be twentysomething but looked more like sixteen, stuck his head in. “Um, Boss?”

Hades looked up from his unending paperwork, his eyes narrowing. “What, Panic? Can’t you see I’m in the middle of something?”

“Er, yes, Boss, but, um … you wanted me to remind you when it was time to leave for the, um, the party.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I take it you mean now?”

“Um, actually…”

“Yes?” he asked, his voice dangerously calm.

“You were supposed to leave half an hour ago. I, um, I forgot…”

“WHAT?!” Hades bellowed, his blue flame “hair” turning red to match his temper.

“Sorry!” Panic said quickly. “Sorry, Boss! I fell asleep! It won’t happen again!”

“It better not,” Hades said darkly, his hair returning to its normal shade as he rose then walked over to his cowering minion. “Because if it does, remember that there are worse jobs in the Underworld. Charon, for one, has been looking for a replacement for a millennium.”

Panic, already pale, paled even more. “Um, yes, Boss. I mean, no, Boss. I mean…”

Hades rolled his eyes as he walked past him. “Do better.”

“Yes, Boss!”

He took one of the back exits, entering the land of the living via an empty storefront in a nondescript strip mall. His mortal glamour in place, he hailed a cab to his oldest brother’s building, the tallest one in the city. Just like the storefront was an entrance to the Underworld, the skyscraper was an entrance to Olympus. All Hades had to do was take the elevator.

Dropping the glamour, he examined his reflection in the mirrored wall of the elevator. His charcoal gray three-piece suit was expertly tailored and contrasted nicely with his white shirt and royal blue necktie, which he took a moment to straighten before the elevator doors opened.

As soon as Hades walked into the penthouse, he bit back a groan. He hated parties and he hated anything having to do with the Olympians, and of course this was a party with every Olympian present. In fact, there was only one Olympian even worth talking to, so he immediately sought her out, ignoring the others as he passed them and glaring at those who dared to talk to him.

Finally, he found Kore by the far wall, trying hard not to roll her eyes as Demeter droned on and on nearby to Athena and Aphrodite. Hades smirked as he approached her. “Bored?” he murmured.

She gave him a half-smile, her chocolate brown eyes dancing. “Not anymore. Hi, Hades.” She wore a long-sleeved sapphire blue gown that would have been boringly modest on anyone else but on her, it looked tasteful. A yellow rose was caught up in her upswept brown hair, perfuming the air around her.

Hades ignored all of that. “Hello.” He looked around at the others, who were talking in their predictable cliques. “I take it the proud parents haven’t presented the brat yet?”

Kore giggled. “Be nice. He’s your nephew, you know. And probably the-”

“Don’t say ‘the future king,’” he cut in, annoyed. “You know Zeus will never step down. Besides,” he nodded towards another of his nephews, “Ares is ahead of him in line.”

She smirked. “I was going to say ‘probably the last one.’ Hera said more than once that this was the last time she wanted to be pregnant.”

“She’s the goddess of marriage and the mother of the goddess of childbirth,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Having babies is part of her purview.”

“Yeah, well, tell her that.” Kore took a sip of her mead.

Hades was about to ask her what she’d brought for the brat prince when Demeter turned around and saw him. Her normally warm demeanor switched to ice cold. “I thought I smelled something rotten,” she said, one eyebrow raised.

He rolled his eyes, muttering, “Lovely to see you too, Demeter.”

Demeter grabbed Kore’s hand. “Come, child. There are better people to talk to.” She dragged her away, Kore giving Hades an apologetic look.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Zeus came over, grinning, as he clapped him on the back, hard. “There you are, Hades. Thought you might’ve gotten lost.”

“If only,” Hades muttered. “Where’s the kid?”

“Right over here,” Zeus said, leading him towards the cradle.

Hades looked down at the baby and was thoroughly unimpressed. Still, he had to put on a good show. He held up one hand and a tendril of smoke flowed from it and coalesced into a baby rattle with a spiky skull. He held it out to the baby, who knocked it out of his hand then grabbed Hades’ finger instead, nearly crushing it in his grip.

“Ouch!” Hades shouted and tried to wave the baby off but Hercules refused. “Let go, let go, let go!”

“Aww, isn’t that cute?” Zeus asked, oblivious to his brother’s pain. “He likes you.” He picked up Hercules and the baby finally let go.

Hades could see a large bruise already forming. “Right,” he muttered. “Charming kid you’ve got there, bro.”

Zeus beamed at him. “Thanks!”

As soon as Hades got back to the Underworld, he ordered Pain and Panic to do away with the baby. To ensure their success, he gave them a bottle of poison that could kill a god. The poison was completely illegal, of course, and he didn’t even want to think about what he had to do to get it. _It’ll be worth it. One less nephew will mean one less person between me and the throne._


	2. Chapter 2

Hades’ mobile chirped just after Pain and Panic left his office. He often looked down on mortals but even he could admit that their inventions were sometimes clever, especially their methods of communication. An uncharacteristic smile momentarily lit up his face when he saw the incoming text was from Kore but he quickly went back to his usual scowl.

**Why am I not surprised that the god of the dead ghosted?**

***eyeroll* You can’t expect me to do anything else when I despise 99.999% of the people there.**

**I hope I’m part of the 0.001%.**

**You’re the entire 0.001%.**

And it was the truth, Kore was the closest thing he had to a friend, the only person who truly understood him. Their relationship was limited to family gatherings and texting since her overbearing mother kept Kore under her green thumb.

**Things will get better, they have to. Mom will understand one day that I’m not a kid anymore and everyone else will finally see in you what I do.**

He didn’t know how to respond to the part about him so he ignored it.** You could always move out, you know.**

**I tried that, remember? She threw the mother of all hissy fits and several countries had poor harvests that year.**

**If you get married, she’d have to agree you’ve grown up. **Something inside him protested strongly to the idea of Kore getting married but he ignored that too.

**Are you kidding? She says if I get married, she’s moving into the mother-in-law suite. I’ll never be rid of her.** As soon as she sent that text, she wrote another. **Right now, I’m her right hand. If I get married? I’ll just be a grandbaby machine.**

Hades firmly resolved that freeing Kore from her mother’s tyranny would be his first act as king. **I take it her retirement is about as likely as Zeus’.**

**Even less likely. If Zeus steps down, Ares could easily take his place as king of the gods. If Mom steps down? I’m the goddess of spring, not a goddess of agriculture. Things would go downhill real fast.**

**Hey, bad times for mortals means more subjects for me. :) **He hated sending emoticons but at that moment, making Kore laugh was more important than his dignity.

**You’re terrible. ;)**

He chuckled.** At least I make sure all price gougers go to Tartarus. Can’t have somebody taking advantage of crises without punishment.**

**Okay, you’re maybe 0.001% less terrible.**

Hades couldn’t help a grin. **I’ll take it.**

Pain and Panic announced, loudly and enthusiastically, that they were back from their mission.

_I’d better make myself scarce for a while,_ Hades thought. **Hey, I’ve got a ton of paperwork to do so if you don’t hear from me, that’s why.**

**Don’t stay incommunicado too long, Mom keeps talking up Apollo. She’s about as subtle as a tornado. I need someone I can vent to.**

**I’ll try.** He immediately felt guilty about lying to her but blamed it on stress. **See you.**

**Don’t work too hard. :***

* * *

Time for immortal gods wasn’t something most of them paid much attention to. Hades kept his head down and stayed away from Olympus until he was certain the sudden death of little Hercules was old news. The fact that he never heard anything about his nephew’s death from his family didn’t mean much – he was usually the last to learn anything that happened on Olympus.

Once he decided things had been quiet long enough, he was a little surprised to hear twenty-five years had passed. Taking a deep breath, he turned on his phone and was completely unsurprised to see it blow up. One text after another kept coming in. After several minutes, the texts stopped coming and he dared to check them.

315 texts, all from Kore. At first, she texted once a week. That lasted six months, then it was once a month for the remaining twenty-four and a half years. Unwilling to read all of them, he opened the latest, which had been sent two days before.

**What do I have to do to get you to text me back, Hades? Not that you care, but Mom is still trying to hook me up with Apollo. Frankly, at this point, I’m tempted to give in just to get her out of my hair for five minutes.**

That galvanized him. **Don’t do that. Apollo’s not worthy of you. He’s a skirt-chaser, just like his father. He’d never make you happy.**

Her reply was instantaneous. **Hey, look who finally remembered he’s not alone in the world. :P**

**Sorry, the 1918 influenza pandemic created a backlog like you wouldn’t believe. I’m only now caught up. ** _At least that part’s the truth._

**Uh huh. Are you coming to Hercules’ birthday party tonight?**

_Zeus and Hera are having a birthday party for their dead kid? I guess everybody grieves differently._ _I’d better make an appearance so they don’t suspect anything._** Wouldn’t miss it.**

**You mean like you missed the last 24? ;)**

**Right.**

**Okay, see you there.**

The happiness he felt at seeing Kore again was tempered by the fact he’d have to see everyone else again too. _The price I have to pay._


	3. Chapter 3

Hades took a deep breath to steady himself then the elevator doors opened and he walked into the penthouse. Every conversation around him stopped short and he wanted nothing more than to go back into the elevator but before he could move, a pair of surprisingly strong arms enveloped him in a hug and he was face to forehead with a delighted Kore.

When she lifted her head to grin up at him, he was so enraptured with her merrily dancing eyes that he didn’t notice Eros’ arrow hitting his shoulder then disappearing. Still, the damage was done.

Hades had never been in love before and he had trouble processing all the thoughts and especially feelings suddenly running through him but he did know one thing – Kore couldn’t know. _I’ll tell her after I overthrow Zeus then I’ll ask her to be my queen, but not before. I can’t let anything get in the way of my plans, not even her._

Still grinning, Kore pulled back then poked him. “Hades? Hello? I can’t have changed that much (or you know, at all) in twenty-five years.”

He shook his head a bit in an attempt to clear it. “Sorry, I just … wasn’t expecting that kind of reaction.”

Kore rolled her eyes. “Maybe if you actually showed up occasionally, your welcome wouldn’t be as enthusiastic.”

“Um, right.” _That would be a shame._

She grabbed his hand and dragged him over to the refreshment table. The other conversations around them resumed but Hades noticed that everyone refused to look at him or Kore.

_It’s just as well, I prefer to have her all to myself._ He obediently held out a plate that she filled with mortal and immortal delicacies then she took the plate from him.

“C’mon,” she said, “I know where there’s an empty table.” She grabbed his arm and led him to an unoccupied table in the back. When Ganymede passed their table, Kore took two glasses of champagne from him and handed Hades one of them. “To Hercules,” she said, holding hers up as she smiled a bit.

_Why is she offering a toast to a dead kid?_ “To Hercules.”

Kore took a sip then grinned at him. “I assume you’re wondering where Mom is.”

_That wasn’t even on the list but I’ll just go with it._ “Something like that, yeah. Where is my least-favorite harpy?”

She giggled. “You know Mom, she loves any kind of harvest festival. I think today’s is in Italy, it’s hard to keep track of them all.”

He raised an eyebrow. “And you’re not with her why?” _Not that I want her there, but Demeter expects Kore to be at her elbow 24/7._

Kore shrugged. “Somebody’s got to do the familial duty thing.” She smiled a bit. “Besides, there was an infinitesimal chance that you’d show up.” She took a cheese square from the plate and popped it into her mouth then she grinned. “It’s good to know I was right.”

Hades had to drag his eyes away from her lips. “Um, yeah. Sorry.”

“Are you actually apologizing for not being around for a quarter of a century?” Kore asked, smirking.

“Basically.” He sipped his champagne as he searched for something to say. “I’m … a horrible friend.”

She smiled a bit. “At least you can admit that one, we’re friends and two, you’re bad at it.” She held out her hand to him. “Promise not to do it again and we’re good.”

He took her hand but instead of shaking it, he kissed it. The move was purely on impulse but after seeing Kore’s surprised look, he couldn’t help wanting to do it again. “I promise,” he said, smirking. _At least this is one promise I can keep._ “So…”

“So…?” she echoed, grinning.

“Are you still thinking about marrying Apollo?” He couldn’t believe how much importance weighed on her answer.

Kore waved a hand in dismissal as she took another sip of her champagne. “Old news, he was seen yesterday with yet another nymph. If I wanted a philandering husband, I’d marry Narcissus – at least then I’d only have to compete with him for his affection.”

Hades chuckled, relieved. “Someone else, then?”

“No,” she sighed quietly, “I’ve given up on men. Mortal women are wrong – Mr. Right is a myth.”

He smiled a bit. “Some would say so are we.”

She gave him an odd look but before she could respond, Zeus started rapping his signet ring against his glass. Hades reluctantly turned his attention to his smiling brother as everyone quieted.

“Hera and I want to thank all of you for coming,” Zeus said as he held out his hand to his wife, who took it, smiling happily. “It’s a big day in our son’s life. I can remember-”

Zeus droned on and on but Hades had stopped listening. _Life?_ “The kid’s alive?” he murmured, dumbfounded.

Kore raised an eyebrow at him, murmuring, “He nearly died a couple of times this year doing heroic things but yeah, he’s alive. As the god of the dead, shouldn’t you know if someone was your subject or not? Why are you even here if you thought he was dead?”

_I’m going to kill Pain and Panic._ “I … er … thought it was a memorial kind of thing.”

She rolled her eyes. “Remind me to put you on the family email list, then you’ll actually know what’s going on.”

“Spare me,” he muttered. “The last thing I need is an inbox full of photos of lightning hitting whatever, peacocks, volcanoes, grain fields (if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all), and insipid little flowers.”

Kore glared at him. “And what would you send, photos of the Phlegethon?” After a quick glance around the room, she muttered, “Hestia wants to talk. Excuse me.” She got up and walked off.

Hades scowled in confusion. “What did I say?” When Kore didn’t come back after talking to her aunt, he decided the party wasn’t worth staying for. _Besides,_ he thought as he rode the elevator back down, _I have a couple of imps to flambé._


	4. Chapter 4

“PAIN! PANIC!” Hades bellowed as soon as he walked into his office.

The two human-form imps ran in, visibly trembling. “Yes, Boss?” they asked in unison.

Hades leaned against the front of his desk, his arms crossed. “Did I or did I not order you to kill Hercules twenty-five years ago?”

“Wow, was it really that long ago?” Panic asked, grinning nervously. “My, how time flies…”

“That reminds me of a joke,” Pain said. At Hades’ continued glare, he added, “Er, not a joke, more like a saying. ‘Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana.’” Both imps giggled.

“The only things flying around here will be you two,” Hades said darkly, “straight into the Phlegethon.”

Both of them dropped to their knees, begging, “Please, Boss, not the river of fire!”

“ANSWER ME!” he bellowed, his hair white-hot.

“Yeah, you did,” Panic said carefully. “And we gave him the poison.”

“So why is my brother celebrating the kid’s 25th birthday?”

“He … um … he didn’t drink it all?”

“And why is that?”

“We were interrupted,” Pain said. “There was only a little bit left in the bottle but we heard somebody coming.”

“So, we turned into snakes,” Panic cut in, “and we were about to bite him but this kid, he was still so strong, even as a little baby. **He** nearly killed **us**!”

“And we knew we couldn’t tell you,” Pain added. “We didn’t want you mad at us.”

Hades brought one hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose, his eyes shut. “What did I do to deserve a couple of imps like you?”

“Um, that’s your lot in life?” Panic ventured.

He lowered his hand to glare at them. “The next time I give you two an order, I want it filled to the letter, is that understood?”

“Yes, Boss!” they said in unison, visibly relieved.

Hades reached back to a button on his desk and the trapdoor beneath the imps opened, dropping them into the Phlegethon far below. It would hurt but their physiology meant that they’d heal quickly. Needing advice, he left his office the next morning and headed back to the land of the living.

While Hades preferred to avoid living mortals entirely, some deities preferred to live among them, like the Fates. He found the three sisters at their coffee shop, serving unwitting mortals who thought the three of them were three generations of a family working together.

Clotho, the one who looked about twenty, grinned when he walked in. “You’re late.”

Hades rolled his eyes. “I didn’t know I was coming until two minutes ago.”

“Uh huh.” She finished taking a customer’s order, which she passed to her sister Lachesis.

“We knew you’d be here before you opened your eyes this morning,” Lachesis said as she made the double-espresso. She looked about forty. When the coffee was done, she passed it to her sister Atropos.

“Before you were born, even,” Atropos said as she handed the coffee to the customer. She looked to be about sixty.

When the last customer left with their drink, Clotho waved a hand and the sign on the door switched from Open to Closed. She looked at Hades. “The question you’re here for isn’t the right one, you know.”

Hades rolled his eyes. “Then what is the right question?”

Lachesis smirked. “Black, two sugars, right?”

He muttered, “Like you need to ask.”

She made the coffee quickly then passed the cup to Atropos, who held it out to him. “The question you came to ask is, ‘What should I do about Hercules?’”

“Right,” he agreed, “so, what’s the answer?”

“Only the Titans can defeat the son of Zeus,” Clotho said.

“Uh huh, and they’re in the immortal equivalent of a maximum-security prison. What’s the real answer?”

“That **is** the real answer,” Lachesis said, smirking.

“Whatever,” Hades muttered. After a moment, he asked again, “What’s the right question?”

Atropos smirked. “Ask the Oracle.”

“I’m not going all the way to Delphi for something you three already know.”

The three Fates looked at each other and Clotho shrugged. “We might as well,” she said.

Lachesis turned to him. “The right question is, ‘What do I do about Persephone?’”

Hades raised an eyebrow. “Who’s Persephone?”

“Buzz,” Atropos said, grinning. “Time’s up. Come back again tomorrow.”

“Maybe we’ll answer your question,” Clotho said, grinning.

“And maybe we won’t,” Lachesis added, grinning.

“Don’t let the door hit you on the way out,” Atropos added as she waved goodbye.

Rolling his eyes again, Hades left the coffee shop and drank his coffee as he contemplated what to do next.


	5. Chapter 5

Hades was cutting through the nearby park when he spotted a woman planting flowers near a copse of trees. Even with her back to him and wearing a glamour to make her skin a mortal shade, he knew it was Kore. She wore a pair of faded jeans, sneakers, and a pale blue t-shirt. As he got closer, he could see sweat on her forehead, which she wiped away on one arm before going back to her planting. None of that detracted from her beauty, as far as he was concerned.

“You know,” he said, smirking, as he moved to stand in front of her, “you don’t need to go through all of this. You can just make them appear.”

“Maybe I like getting my hands dirty,” she said curtly, her eyes on her task.

“You’re wearing gloves.”

Kore removed her gardening gloves as she stood up, glaring at him. “It’s a figure of speech. What do you want, Hades?”

_You. The throne. Everything._ _Nope, can’t tell her that._ “To apologize?”

She raised an eyebrow. “You don’t sound very sure of that.”

“I upset you somehow.” He shrugged. “I feel like I should apologize.”

“You don’t even know what upset me?” Kore threw up her hands in disgust. “Unbelievable.” She quickly gathered her things then started walking away.

Hades caught up to her easily. “Just tell me.”

“You belittled my passion, my mother’s, everyone’s,” she said, keeping her eyes straight ahead.

“When did I…” He trailed off, remembering his comment about the emails. “Oh, right,” he muttered. “Sorry.”

Kore rolled her eyes. “Have you ever, in your entire life, thought of anyone besides yourself?”

He grabbed her elbow, stilling her. “I think about you.”

She glared at him. “Oh yeah? You were thinking about me during those twenty-five years you couldn’t be bothered to reply to my texts?”

He didn’t have an answer for that – there were times he had put her out of his mind almost completely, but there were also times he thought of nothing but her.

Kore wrenched her arm away. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. You’re a selfish bastard, Hades.”

“Hey,” he protested mildly, “my parents are married.”

She glared at him for a moment then groaned quietly, unable to help a small smile. “That joke was old a century ago.”

Hades grinned. “But you’re smiling. Admit it, you can’t stay mad at me for long.”

“I never could,” she admitted.

“I’m sorry,” he said sincerely. “What you do is important.”

Kore smiled a bit. “Who are you and what have you done with Hades?”

He chuckled. “I guess I deserve that. Let me make it up to you – lunch is on me.”

She assessed him. “Make it a picnic and you’re on.”

“You drive a hard bargain, Kore,” he said, grinning.

* * *

The spot Kore chose was beneath a weeping willow by the lake, the curtain of leaves giving them just enough privacy. With a single wave of her hand, she had cleaned up and changed her clothes to a pale yellow sundress then she sat down on the plaid blanket he’d spread on the ground.

Hades couldn’t help staring at her. He’d never seen her look more lovely.

“Are you going to join me or are you just going to stand there?” she asked, smiling up at him playfully.

He chuckled. “Sorry,” he said as he sat down across from her. “So,” he said as he started pulling food out of the picnic basket, “where’s your mother today?”

“Know not, care not,” Kore said, grinning. “She’s not bothering me right now so as far as I’m concerned, whatever she’s doing is fine by me.”

He paused, raising an eyebrow. “Kore … you’re lying. You always know where your mother is and what she’s doing. She insists that you know.”

She sighed heavily. “You really want to know? Fine. She’s arranging a marriage for me.”

Hades stared at her. In his mind, he could see all his plans for marrying Kore someday turning to dust. “With who?” he demanded. When she didn’t say anything, he reached out to take her hand and gentled his tone. “With who, Kore?”

She snatched her hand back, saying bitterly, “With Dionysus, okay? Mom’s arranging a marriage between me and the god of wine just because the two of them have harvests in common. They can talk shop all day while I push out one kid after another.”

“You don’t want this marriage,” he realized, relieved. “But you’re still consenting, why?”

“The god I actually want isn’t interested, so I have to do something,” she said quietly. “If Dionysus and Mom are BFFs, then maybe I’ll have a few minutes a day to myself.”

Hades stared at her. “Who is it that you want?” _Even if I get Dionysus to take a hike, there’s still someone else?_

“Does it matter? I can’t have him,” she said as she took the rest of the food out of the picnic basket.

He laid a hand on her shoulder. “It matters to me.”

She looked at him, surprised. “Why?”

“What?” he asked, just as surprised.

“Why does it matter who I want?” she asked quietly. “Why do you need to know?” She shrugged off his hand.

Hades smirked. “I need to know so I can dangle him above the Lethe until he agrees to give you a chance.”

She assessed him. “You know, I actually believe you.”

“So, who is it?”

Kore looked down at the container of ambrosia in her hands. “The most committed bachelor I’ve ever met – you.”

“Pardon?”

“You heard me,” she said quietly, still not looking at him. After a moment, she set aside the ambrosia and opened the pasta salad instead, spooning some onto her plate.

Hades stared at her silently for a moment, dumbfounded, then he chuckled. “Seriously, who is it?”

Kore finally looked up at him, one eyebrow raised. “Is that your self-hatred talking?”

“No,” he muttered, looking away. “It’s the part of me that knows my bad luck streak started before you were born and hasn’t let up yet.”

She reached out to take his hand. “What about the rest of you?”

When he finally met her eyes, he could see they were dancing. He was lost in them for a moment before he remembered to answer. “The rest of me is foolish enough to believe you’re serious.”

Kore grinned at him. “The foolish part of you is right.”

He stared at her. “If this is a really sick joke-”

She took his other hand as well. “You want me to swear it?” At his nod, she said, “Fine, I swear on the Styx that you are the only god, the only person I would ever want to marry.”

_She wouldn’t swear on the Styx if she didn’t mean it._ “But … why?” he asked helplessly.

Kore chuckled. “Now** that’s** the self-hatred talking.” She gently squeezed his hands. “You’re my best friend, Hades. My only real friend. If I’m to share the rest of my life with someone, why not the person who means the most to me?”

_She didn’t say love._ “Do you even know what marriage means? Your parents-”

Kore scowled, saying quietly, “Don’t. I only have one parent and that’s my mother. My ‘father’ was nothing more than a sperm donor. Mom wanted a kid, he was feeling randy, it was a one night stand. He has certainly never treated me like his daughter, but then he’s a deadbeat dad with most of his offspring, isn’t he?”

“Hey,” he murmured, letting go of one hand so he could reach up to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I didn’t mean to drudge up old pain, I just meant that you didn’t grow up watching a happily married couple.”

“Neither did you,” she said, smiling weakly. “You grew up in your father’s stomach.”

“Don’t remind me,” he muttered.

“So, what you were getting at is that neither of us had any decent role models for a good marriage?”

“Yes.”

“Look at it this way – we have a ton of examples of bad marriages. All we have to do is avoid their mistakes and try to not make any new ones.” She grinned. “That is, assuming you want to marry me.”

“More than anything,” he murmured. At that point, he wasn’t thinking about his plans for the throne or anything else besides the goddess in front of him.

The smile she gave him was the happiest he’d ever seen and he silently vowed to keep her that way, no matter what it took.


End file.
